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| Author, life coach, and motivational speaker Tony Robbins. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Listening to a motivational speaker is a great way to seriously start thinking about doing something. Now if only I could just get one of those guys to shut up and just show me what I need to do instead of telling me about it...
Need some motivation? Have you tried listening to motivational speakers? I've got success program recordings by Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins, and a few others that I used to listen to when I was driving. Whether it was for my fifteen minute commute to and from work or some extended trip, I would listen to these tapes over and over and over. Now I don't have a cassette player in my vehicle so I don't listen to them.
At the time I supposed that listening to the content enough would make it stick with me and maybe it did. Probably so. Still, there are those times when I need a healthy dose of motivation, part of which is reassurance. The guy doing most of the talking these days is me talking to myself. If I'm not hearing something on the computer or seeing something on television that pushes me to action, then it's up to me to do the prodding. I know it's all worth it in the end. At least I think it is. I hope it is.
By the way, for those who are shilly-shallying about doing the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge--go head and do it. Push yourself. Give yourself a hearty pep talk. And if you want a theme song to go along with your kick in the pants, you can sing along with my song pick for....
Battle of the Bands
"I Believe in You"
As a first reaction to this song title you might have been expecting a Christian song--there are a few with this title. Or maybe that great song by Neil Young with the same title. You might even have thought of any number of other songs with the title "I Believe in You." In the case of this Battle I'm using the hit song from the 1961 Frank Loesser musical How to Succeed at Business without Really Trying,
This song popped into my conscious mind within the past couple of months--not sure how or why, but it just did. Since then it has been my obsession to use it in an upcoming Battle and today is the day. The message in the song is a motivational one: Have confidence in yourself if you want to succeed. That speaks to my own self perception of late. I guess that's why I've had the song on mental replay for several weeks now. When I'm leading up to a Battle, the song I'm going to use next tends to overtake my musical mind. This one has done so probably more than any song I've used so far.
I recall seeing the song performed by How to Succeed star Robert Morse on television back in the sixties and hearing versions by many other artists during that era. It's not a song I've heard in recent years although maybe I did hear it not so song ago and it planted the song seed then. For some reason I've been thinking about this great song and now you can think about it...
Frank Sinatra with Count Basie "I Believe in You" (1964)
Let's start this Battle off in a big way with the brash flashy sound of Count Basie and his orchestra and an energetic delivery by the legendary Frank Sinatra. Can any recorded version of this motivational song be bigger and better? Give it a listen to see if it gives you a wallop...
Bobby Darin "I Believe in You" (1966)
Can Sinatra and Basie be outdone? Or maybe you prefer the slowed down cool version by Bobby Darin. It's not the frantic sound like the previous version, but it's a showy version nevertheless and you can focus on the lyrics with a more meditative approach. This is a darn good version of "I Believe in You," but is it as good as Sinatra's. You be the judge...
Time to Vote!
Come readers! I believe in you. Please vote. What's your preference between these two choices? Which song version do you like best? You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorites by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Angel's Bark
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Cherdo on the Flipside
Winner of this Battle Announced on Wednesday March 7th
Do come back next Wednesday to find out who won this Battle. That will also be the day of the Insecure Writer's Support Group so you might want to drop in for that post as well. If you have not yet completed the survey at the Blogging from A to Z Blog site, please visit and help us with your input. A to Z sign ups open on March 5th.
Do you need any particular motivation right now? Do you ever listen to motivational gurus? Have self-help books ever been helpful to you?
